When it comes to delivering technology education suited for the 21st century, it’s very important to consider what types of students are being attracted to the content. Anybody who is following the technology industry at large knows there’s a serious issue at hand: women are largely underrepresented in technology-related jobs. According to the National Center for Women in Technology, “The IT labor force demand is growing, yet women’s participation is decreasing. In 1996, women made up 37% of the U.S. IT workforce; by 2010, they made up 25%.” (Barker, Mancha, & Ashcroft, 2014)
This month, Time Magazine covered this issue in an article titled
Cracking the Girl Code: How to End the Tech Gender Gap. The imperative for reaching out to young women is clear. “By 2020, U.S. universities will not be able to fill even a third of the country’s 1.4 million computing positions with qualified graduates. The industry needs to tap the other 50% of the population if it hopes to find candidates for crucial jobs. At present, only 12% of computer-science degrees go to women.” (Dockterman, 2014)
At KidsTek, we feel a clear responsibility on this issue as nonprofit educational technology providers. Last school year, nearly half of our program participants were girls, and we’re planning on seeing those percentages rise even more this fall. In addition to that, we have regularly hosted women leaders from Denver’s tech sector in our high school business computing classes. We understand the importance of not only getting girls in the door of technology programs, but also helping them envision a future where they are leaders and innovators in tech!
Learn about one of our incredible young women alumni,
Nin Aung, who was the recipient of KidsTek’s 2014 Nancy J. Sauer Scholarship!
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